IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample 454 - Teacher has greater influence than parents in the development of child 's intelligence

Some people think teacher has greater influence than parents in the development of child 's intelligence and social skills.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer:
There is too much debate about whether teachers or parents influence child development socially and mentally. While I agree with the idea that teachers play an indispensable role in child development, I believe that parents have greater impact on children growing up too.

On one hand, teachers are the backbone of the education system. By this I mean that, in most countries children begin to attend school from 5 years old and from this point they emerge from the small family and join the whole society and being part of it, with the presence of professional teacher this could be a huge development in term of social skills such as teamwork and sharing activities. Moreover, through different classes in mathematics and science, for instance, children can learn how to solve a complex problem in a short time and this is the most important thing for brain development and intelligence. For illustration, it has been calculated that nearly 30% of the whole brain development takes place at this stage of our life.

On the other hand, parents and particularly mothers, as the child stays most of their time with them, play an important constituent in the growth of the child mentality. As a matter of fact, preschool stage is a crucial stage and children obtain and store vast amounts of information. Hence, in this period children create their own environment and personality. For instance, children copy their parents in their language and how they interact with each other. Moreover, families can boost their children inelegant and cognitive skills through video games, play, interactive discussion, advices etc. As a result the crucial role of family is not forgettable.

To conclude, as we have seen. There is no easy answer to this question. However, I tend to believe that both parents and teachers influence children social skills and mental development.